Reporting
...ll-backs. He sees both sides to every issue. He doesn't treat people as a means to an end. 6. The good reporter is courageous. She approaches strangers. She takes pleasure in being good, in being first. She develops a skin to deflect the inevitable criticism. She is willing to make a mistake and willing to write something that may hurt someone. She has a capacity for tempered outrage. She has courage to see what is there and not what you want to think is there." REPORTING BEATS A beat is an area of specialization where a reporter is expected to report from daily. Reporting beats include, but not limited to: · Politics · Business and Economy · Sports · Crime Politics: These deals with political parties and electioneering. This is common in most media houses; they have reporters assigned to cover press conferences or politicians and to monitor the conduct of political leaders and parties. Business and Economy: The business and economy reporter covers activities of the economy and the various sectors of business, ranging from industry, to manufacturers, banking, agriculture etc. Sports: Sport is an important area no media can afford to ignore in our society today. Media devote pages and hours to sports reporting because of its importance in human life. Crime: The rate at which crimes increases in human life brings about the need for the media to give information to the society and bring crimes and criminals to light help to reduce the spread of unusual conducts. WRITING PROCESS What is news? News is something unusual. News is anything that interests a large part of the community and has never been brought to its attention before. Gathering the News News reporters gather information in three ways: by interviewing people, by researching the written record (Documents) and by observation. Interviews: This is based on what you are told, rather than what you discover for yourself. Interviews come in various forms, vox pop, phoning a source to confirm a story, through a chat etc. It is important to note that; you should not hide your identify as a reporter to your source. Documents: These include result from handouts, press releases, press conferences, speeches and statements. This type of reporting doesn't have to be bad, there should be a document to back-up your story, which makes it more credible. Observation: A reporter can report through personal observation. Personal Observation is just like verification for what has been provided. It can also be an observation of an event. The Writing Process A good news story focus on the three parts involved in news story, namely: (i) The headline (ii) The lead (iii) The body of the story The Headline: It is the main topic of a news story. It is designed in bolder form to differentiate it from other text. The sub-editors or copy editors are the one responsible for the writing of the headline not the reporter but it is important a reporter know what the hea...